


Two Interludes: "The Last Nacelle" and "Earthrise"

by monkee, Penny_P, Voyager_Virtual Season_7-5_Staff_Writers (jamelia116)



Series: Voyager Virtual Season 7.5 [31]
Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-29 22:36:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20804108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monkee/pseuds/monkee, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Penny_P/pseuds/Penny_P, https://archiveofourown.org/users/jamelia116/pseuds/Voyager_Virtual%20Season_7-5_Staff_Writers
Summary: Two Interludes, one set before and the other after the events of "In the Arms of Family""The Last Nacelle," by monkee: As Voyager makes its final approach to Deep Space Nine, a crewmember decides to complete a project before reaching home."Earthrise," by Penny:  December, 1968: three men traveled 240,000 miles to discover the moon and 'ended up discovering Earth.' Now, 411 years later, as they are on their final approach to Earth, the crew of Voyager rediscovers just how precious Earth truly is.





	1. The Last Nacelle

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Paramount/Viacom/CBS own Voyager. We don't. We just borrow the characters to bring new life and exploits to them all.
> 
> We also don't own the pictures accompanying these two short pieces, but we thank Trek Core Screencap website for the image accompanying "The Last Nacelle," and NASA for allowing the use of one of the most iconic photographs of the Earth ever taken during the 1960's space program.

**The Last Nacelle**  
  
an _In the Arms of Family_ prelude  


**By monkee**

  
Joe Carey sighed as he stepped into his quarters, and the doors closed behind him. He drew in a deep breath, then exhaled, allowing all of the tension of the last few days to drain away. God, he was tired. Torres had ordered him to leave Engineering and get some rest, just as he had done to her yesterday. He hadn't argued. He knew she was right. But now that he was here -- how could he possibly comply? _Voyager_ was home!  
  
From his viewport, he couldn't see the _Enterprise_, _Voyager'_s 'escort,' but he knew it was there. And the stars outside didn't look any different from Delta Quadrant stars, but he knew they were different. He could feel the difference -- in his own outlook, in the buzz around the ship, in the air itself. Everything felt different. Everything felt like home.  
  
He'd promised to sleep, though, so he dutifully headed over to his sleeping area.  
  
Then, abruptly, he stopped, turned around, and walked over to the shelves in the corner. There was something he had to take care of first. It wouldn't take very long, but he needed to do it. He needed a definitive closure to this chapter of his life.  
  
He looked at the objects on the shelves. Souvenirs from the eight-year journey rested among his technical journals and reference books -- rocks, mostly, from his away missions, but he'd also picked up models of Delta Quadrant vessels whenever he'd spotted them. Feeling nostalgic, he fingered some of the rocks from the more dramatic parts of the journey, Hanon IV, New Hope, and, finally, the ones he'd picked up on the moon Naomi had named Facet I. Had that really only happened a week ago?  
  
Shaking himself out of his reverie, he turned his attention back to the matter at hand. From the bottom shelf, he retrieved a black case, and carried it over to the table.  
  
He opened the case and carefully lifted a glass bottle with a nearly complete model of _Voyager_ constructed inside it. There was only one nacelle left to attach. He couldn't believe this particular project had been languishing in its case for so long. When B'Elanna had been pregnant, he'd suddenly found himself with more responsibilities in Engineering. Since then, of course, much of his free time had been devoted to making the slipstream work.  
  
It was time. He took a deep breath, then pushed the nacelle through the narrow opening of the bottle. Then he began the painstaking process of maneuvering his carafologist's pliers into place to lift the nacelle and snap it onto the strut. The task required a steady hand, and much patience.  
  
He was tired, though, and the nacelle kept slipping from the grasp of the pliers. Maybe he was trying too hard. He chuckled, remembering a conversation he'd once had with Tom Paris about the 'Zen of car maintenance.' Perhaps there was a 'Zen of carafology,' too. Maybe when he retired, he'd write a book about it.  
  
He took another deep breath, and picked up the nacelle again. This time, as he worked, he let his mind wander. He thought about J.J. He'd taught his eldest son how to build bottled ships when he was very young. His efforts had been age-appropriate, of course -- a pirate ship, a simple shuttle. But in one of his recent conversations with home, J.J. had sheepishly admitted that he still built them. He was touched that his son had kept the tradition alive in his absence, perhaps as a way of staying connected to him.  
  
He wondered when and how he would be reunited with his family. He knew it was too much to hope that they would be on the station -- he was fairly certain it wouldn't be permitted, even if they could get there. He told himself that it was just as well -- that it would be more appropriate to see them first at home in Cobh. But he knew he was kidding himself. His heart ached -- literally ached -- for them, and the sooner he could see and touch them, the better.  
  
He suddenly realized that the nacelle was in perfect position. Slowly, carefully, he applied just the right amount of pressure, and he heard the soul-satisfying click that told him he'd succeeded. He extricated the pliers, and grinned. He corked and sealed the bottle, then sat back to admire his handiwork.  
  
As he inspected the fragile ship inside the glass, the enormity of recent events struck him anew. They'd done it! They'd been swept across the galaxy, a lifetime away from home, and they'd beaten the odds and returned after only eight years. Looking at the small ship from an outside perspective made him realize how utterly remarkable the accomplishment really was. He blinked back tears. He was tired and getting maudlin. He should go to bed. But instead he stared at the ship until his vision began to blur.  
  
He hadn't chosen this path. The last eight years had been unexpected, and, for the most part, unwelcome. He had been parted from Annie for nearly a decade, and his boys had grown up without him. He'd missed those important years, and he would never, ever, get them back.  
  
But he couldn't deny that it had been the adventure of a lifetime. With the absence of blood ties, he and his shipmates had formed their own family, and together they had explored places that no human had ever seen. He knew with certainty that these eight years would be with him, in an important way, for the rest of his life. Adventure. Excitement. Exploration. This was why he'd joined Starfleet in the first place.  
  
He took one last look at his creation, and imagined how it was going to look on the mantel of his fireplace. He could actually see his entire family room in his mind's eye, with a level of detail he hadn't allowed himself in years. He expanded the vision to include Annie, in his embrace at last, and the actual in-person presence of his boys.  
  
Then, smiling, he placed the bottle gently back into the case. He closed and latched it, then finally went to bed.

;

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The author of "The Last Nacelle" is monkee. The URL for the accompanying image, a screencap from the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Friendship One," is:
> 
> http://voy.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/7x21/friendshipone_527.jpg
> 
> Our thanks to Trek Core, a wonderful resource for all sorts of information on Star Trek in general and for the Voyager image in particular.
> 
> http://voy.trekcore.com/gallery/index.php


	2. Earthrise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The goal is reached.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The perfect music to listen to while reading this piece: William Walton's Crown Imperial March.  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AKIFKwSSoE

**Earthrise**  
  
an _In the Arms of Family_ interlude  
  
by Penny

  
"All stop, Mr. Paris." Captain Kathryn Janeway sat in the command chair on the bridge of the _USS Voyager_, looking calm and controlled. She didn't feel that way. Her heart was beginning to pound in her chest. "Lieutenant Kim, viewscreen magnification on maximum."  
  
Harry Kim acknowledged her order and immediately the scene on the viewscreen enlarged. The white, pockmarked curve of the moon -- Earth's moon -- filled the bottom third of the screen, with black space beyond. The domes and caps of Luna City were not in sight. The visible surface was as pristine and stark as it had been when_ Apollo 8_ made man's first orbit around the pale globe.  
  
Janeway touched a control for the ship-wide comm system. "Attention all hands," she said. "Everyone who can free themselves from duty for a few moments should look at a monitor or better yet, a forward observation port. There's something I think you all want to see."  
  
Then she nodded to Paris. "Ease us forward, Tom. Slowly."  
  
"Aye, Captain," the helmsman said with a grin. "Forward at one-eighth impulse."  
  
With an effort, Janeway tore her eyes from the screen and looked around the Bridge. Her Bridge. Her people. After eight years, her family. The Doctor, whom she had invited to witness their homecoming from here, Harry Kim at Ops, Tom Paris at the helm, B'Elanna Torres at Engineering -- how they had grown over the years. _What a privilege to have witnessed it,_ she thought. _How lucky I've been._  
  
Her gaze fell upon Tuvok, standing at formal attention at his station. His eyes met hers for just a moment, and she felt her throat tighten. _Lucky, indeed. We did it, my friend. We did it._  
  
Finally she turned to Chakotay and found him already studying her. She smiled, and reached across the short space between them to squeeze his hand once and let it go. Her heart was too full for words.  
  
"Look," Harry said suddenly, and she turned her head back to the screen. An arc of blue cleared the moon's horizon, growing and expanding as the planet rose in their vision. Slowly the Earth revealed itself to them, blue oceans and green forests and brown deserts and white clouds. Half in light and half in night, it gleamed brightly against the void.

The Bridge fell silent except for the soft hum of the engines. Kathryn rose slowly, feeling pulled toward the sight of the shining blue planet. Chakotay stood beside her, the back of his hand brushing hers lightly.  
  
_Home,_ she thought. _We're really home. _She'd thought it before, and each time it held a new significance. This time, with Earth right in front of her, looking so fragile yet brimming with life, the knowledge was almost overwhelming.  
  
The quiet was suddenly broken by Paris. "In the beginning," he said softly, "God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: And God divided the light from the darkness."  
  
Kathryn shivered. She recognized the words, and the context. Of course Paris would remember.  
  
Beside her, Chakotay continued, his hushed voice carrying clearly. "And God called the light Day and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven, and the evening and the morning were the second day."  
  
Then Tuvok said, "And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas: and God saw that it was good."  
  
Kathryn knew Chakotay and Tom both had a great fascination with the history of spaceflight, and everything connected to it, but she was surprised that Tuvok was the one who finished the sequence. She turned to him with a question on her face. Tuvok arched an eyebrow. "One need not practice the religion to appreciate the beauty of the words, or the aptness of the quote."  
  
_The aptness of the quote._ Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders had spoken those words on another December day centuries before, when confronted with the same view. By the 24th century, the approach path to Earth was routine, the Earthrise mundane. But not now -- not for the crew of _Voyager_. Like the Apollo astronauts, they had risked everything for a chance to see this. And like the Apollo astronauts, she knew that none of them would ever again take this view for granted.  
  
She nodded once, and turned to Harry Kim. "Hail Spacedock, Lieutenant, and request entry coordinates." With a brilliant smile, she returned to her seat.  
  
The image on the screen shifted to show an ensign in the new gray uniform with a gold turtleneck. "_Voyager,_ you are to proceed to the landing pad at Starfleet Command. Admiral Hayes and a welcoming committee are already waiting for you. I am transmitting flight path instructions now."  
  
"Received," Paris said.  
  
The ensign on the viewscreen grinned. "You'll be hearing this a lot in the next few days, but welcome home, _Voyager_."  
  
"Thank you," she replied as the screen returned to the view of space. Of Earth. "Well. HQ, and a welcoming committee. As I recall, Mr. Paris, there is a tradition for ships landing at HQ that goes back to James T. Kirk and his captured Klingon Warbird. I believe I would like to be traditional today."  
  
Tom grinned. "Aye, Captain."  
  
Chakotay smiled as well. "Showboating, Captain? There's bound to be a crowd watching."  
  
"Exactly. Let's give them something to see." She reached for her armchair controls and scrolled through the music selections until she found the one she wanted. With a touch, the strains of William Walton's "Crown Imperial March" filled the air. Excitement surged through her, and she almost laughed from sheer giddiness.  
  
The turbolift opened, and Neelix stepped onto the Bridge, carrying a large, steaming mug. "Captain," he said with a twinkle in his eye, "I was instructed to bring you this as soon as we entered Earth orbit."  
  
The aroma reached her nose before the mug reached her hands. Coffee. Hot, blessed coffee. She noted the look that Chakotay and Neelix exchanged as she took her first sip in weeks, then closed her eyes in sheer bliss.  
  
_Remember this,_ she thought. _Remember this moment because there will never be another one like it._  
  
"The _Enterprise_ is breaking off and heading for Spacedock," Harry said. "Captain Picard sends his regards."  
  
"Return ours," she said. Then she touched the control for the shipwide comm again, muting the music as she spoke. "Ladies and gentlemen, we will be landing at Starfleet Headquarters in just a few moments. Disembarkation procedures will begin immediately upon arrival."  
  
She swallowed the lump that suddenly formed in her throat. "This may be my last opportunity to address you as my crew. There are still many uncertainties facing us as we end this journey, but nothing that happens in the future can dim your achievements. We have been through difficult times together, perhaps more difficult than any Starfleet ship has faced before. Through it all, you have demonstrated your courage, your dignity and your integrity. I have watched you all rise to the occasion time and time again, overcoming the seemingly impossible. You have conducted yourselves in the finest tradition of Starfleet and it has been my honor and privilege to have been your captain."  
  
Her voice gave out, and she stopped abruptly, blinking back threatened tears. She lowered her head as she returned volume to the music.  
  
Seemingly oblivious to her state, Paris announced, "We're entering the atmosphere. Hang on, everyone. Here we go."  
  
_Voyager_ swooped down, cutting a smooth arc over the Atlantic Ocean and moving west across the North American continent. They crossed the Rocky Mountains and then flew over the city of San Francisco. They continued over the Pacific until Paris turned the starship sharply back toward the city and the Golden Gate Bridge, descending rapidly.  
  
From the Engineering station, B'Elanna gasped. "We're heading for the bridge!"  
  
"You bet." Tom didn't let his attention wander, but he grinned as he spoke. _Voyager_ flew gracefully over the landmark, her hull only meters above the great suspension wires. As soon as they cleared the structure, the ship pulled up sharply over the Bay, turned and headed back for land. There was a slight shudder as the landing struts extended, but the ship set down as gently as a dandelion puff on a breeze. A large crowd was visible beyond the safety barriers, waving and cheering the ship.  
  
"Nice landing," Chakotay said, deadpan. “Better than your last one."  
  
"On New Hope?" Tom swiveled in his chair and looked at him with an equally deadpan expression. "That wasn't a landing, it was a crash."  
  
Kathryn stood, took a few steps and then turned to face them. "This mission isn't finished yet. Senior officers, please secure stations and oversee the disembarkation procedure for your departments. Commander Chakotay and I will be at the docking hatch to see you off, although I expect to see you again at one of the many debriefing sessions that await us." She steeled herself, forcing back the emotion she felt. "And -- well done."  
  
No one moved. It wasn't insubordination, Kathryn realized. It was shock, and an inability to believe that they were truly leaving _Voyager_. "It's time," she said at last. "Do it."  
  
B'Elanna was the first to move. She stood, squared her shoulders and looked Janeway directly in the eye. "You kept your promise, Captain Janeway. You got us home. Thank you." Then she turned and walked to the turbolift without looking back.  
  
Kathryn bit her lip.  
  
Tom stood, all trace of his smile replaced by solemnity. "Thank you, Captain. For everything." He followed his wife into the 'lift.  
  
One at a time, each of the officers on the Bridge -- Samantha Wildman, Chris Rollins, Harry Kim, the Doctor, Neelix -- faced her and said the same thing: "Thank you." Finally, only she, Tuvok and Chakotay remained. Before either of them could say anything, she raised a hand. "Not you. Not the two of you. Please."  
  
"I will not thank you for keeping your promise, Captain," Tuvok said, not moving from his station. "I never doubted that you would."  
  
"We did it together." She looked from one to the other, and wondered if she would ever feel this close to anyone ever again.  
  
"Yes, but only because of your vision." Tuvok clasped his hands behind his back in the Vulcan form of attention. "You showed me that trust is sometimes a matter of faith and that faith is often a matter of courage. For that, I do thank you."  
  
He turned and left the Bridge, leaving her dumbfounded.  
  
Chakotay had not moved from where he stood, directly in front of the first officer's chair, a good three meters from her. "Don't," she said to him. "Don't you dare. I can't take any more of this. And I refuse to greet the Admiralty with red eyes."  
  
His gaze caught hers and held. "It's the end of an important chapter in our lives, Kathryn. It deserves recognition. You deserve it."  
  
"We're not done yet." Her voice harsh with the effort to control her emotions. "We've got a crew to protect, Chakotay. I won't let them be demeaned, not after what they've been through."  
  
He was silent for the span of three heartbeats, simply looking at her. Then he nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I'll meet you at the docking hatch."  
  
When he reached the turbolift, though, he turned and looked around the Bridge once more. "You never answered my question."  
  
The seeming non sequitor caught her off guard. "What question?"  
  
"If the circumstances had been different, could you have served under me?"  
  
A chuckle caught in her throat. He had asked that, what, eight years ago? "I guess we'll never know," she said.  
  
Smiling, he turned and left.  
  
Alone on the Bridge, she stood for a moment, simply looking around. Sounds from the past seemed to echo around her -- sounds of battle, sounds of laughter, sounds of grief. Her life on this ship had been so intense that surely the best part of her soul had leeched into it. No matter what lay ahead, there would always be a part of her here.  
  
She walked back to her chair and ran her hand along its arm. Then she raised her head and spoke. "Thank you. I'll miss you."  
  
Captain Kathryn Janeway left the Bridge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The author of this piece is Penny. 
> 
> Author's Note: The picture of the Earth rising above the moon comes from the NASA archives of the Apollo 8 mission (image AS08-14-2383) and is used here in accordance with NASA guidelines. Familiar now, it was a vision of awe and wonder for those of us who saw it first broadcast from space; in a time of cold and hot war, change and unrest, it was a dramatic reminder that we are a single species blessed with an extraordinary home. As the mission's lunar module pilot William Anders said, "We came all this way to explore the moon, and we ended up discovering Earth."

**Author's Note:**

> **Next Up: "In the Course of Justice" by Penny**
> 
> _Voyager_ is home at last. The parades, the speeches, the celebratory dinners, and the joyful holidays are over--and questions that have plagued Captain Kathryn Janeway for the past several years will finally be answered.


End file.
